USPCA 2008 Recipe of the Year!

Of all the awards given out at the USPCA's annual conference, my favorite is the Recipe of the Year. Probably because I love trying out the new recipes. At this year's conference, the top recipe was a fish dish - and I have it here for you! Courtesy of the USPCA 2008 Recipe of the Year winner, Chef Leah Peachey, owner of Savory Selections Personal Chef Service in Augusta, Maine! Luckily, I'm a personal friend of Ms. Peachey's so I was able to obtain an advance copy of the recipe. Thanks, Leah - I'm making this for dinner tonight!


Baked Crusted Haddock
4 servings

• 1-1/3 pound fresh Haddock (or other firm, mild, white fish)
• 2 med lemons, 1 for zest and 1 for garnish
• 1/3 teaspoon lemon zest
• 5-1/3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup cracker crumbs, whole wheat bagel crisps, crushed
• 7/8 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup oats, quick cooking
• 2/3 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Melt butter on stovetop in a 3 quart saucepan; remove from heat.

Crush bagel crisps in Ziplock bag.

Zest lemon and set zest aside for later.

Slice lemon for garnish and chop parsley.

Into the pan of melted butter, mix in cracker crumbs, seasoned breadcrumbs, oats, parsley, and lemon zest.

Rinse fish under cold water and place in baking dish.

Juice 1 lemon and pour over fish.

Place crumb topping over fish.

Bake in oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, or until fish flakes easily.

Foodies & Winos 2008

The blog entry I wrote last year after attending the United States Personal Chef Association's (USPCA) annual conference was titled, "Foodies & Winos." I've just returned home after this year's conference and found the title just as apropos for this year, so I'll just add "2008" to the end.

The conference committee likes to showcase the local cuisines of the host city. Well, since the conference was in Arizona and I live in Arizona, the food served at the luncheons was not new or exciting to me (or the other Arizonans attending). Next year, however, the conference will be set in New Orleans. I fully expect to eat and drink my way through the city. With any luck, enough wine will make us completely forget about the oppressive humidity of Louisiana in late July. I'll have to ply my friend from Maine, Chef Leah, with enough wine that she stops worrying about the behavior of her naturally curly hair while down on the bayou. ;-)

Speaking of my friend, Chef Leah, her creation won the "Recipe of the Year," award! I have yet to lay my hands on this recipe, but as soon as I do, I'll be trying it out and maybe posting it here (with Chef Leah's permission, of course). That's a pretty awesome achievement to have your recipe judged above all others by a group of professional foodies!

Another friend (and a valley local, being in Peoria), Chef Leslie, was most helpful (and entertaining) sitting next to me at the Kosher cooking class. The biggest thing I got from that class is the fact that I'm now even more freaked out by the rules of Kosher cooking (since I'm not Jewish - and the rules were not explained during this class, just kind of thrown out there) and I'll be referring any Kosher clients to Chef Leslie. The lingering question for me is, "Is silicone Kosher?"

On the last morning of conference, Chef Leslie and I had breakfast with Chef Gail Kenagy, who is the new president of the USPCA, and world-renowned food stylist and author, Denise Vivaldo. This was the highlight of my weekend. Chef Gail is one of my all-time favorite people, and Denise is one of the most entertaining speakers I've ever seen. Oh yeah - and Denise says, from what she sees in Beverly Hills, silicone MUST be kosher - and Botox too!

Foodies and Winos

I am just back from the USPCA's annual conference, held this year in Philadelphia. Aside from the interesting classes that I attended, the best part of the conference had to be the people I met and the friends I made. Over many, many glasses of wine, I got to know chefs from all over the country. The sharing of helpful hints, war stories, and names of reasonably priced packaging suppliers was plentiful as we ate, drank, and laughed our way through the weekend.

During the conference, one of the classes I attended was given by Mark Tafoya of The Gilded Fork. This particular class was titled, "Harnessing the Power of the New Media," and was all about using blogs, podcasts, and other new media as a way to boost our businesses. While I am miles away from any sort of podcast, consider this my first attempt at blogging. If I get really daring, I might attempt to make my own changes on my website http://www.yourplacegourmet.com/

Another memorable class I attended was a Food Styling class, given by the master food stylist, Denise Vivaldo. What a fun gal she is! While I haven't really started experimenting with food styling, the image above is of a dish I made while writing my monthly food column for My Hometown Estrella magazine.
All photography is by Michelle Roles Photography in Avondale, Arizona.
http://michellerolesphotography.com/